Engage business, government and community leaders to initiate planning and policy change.

Beyond the initial community-wide assessment conducted by the Task Force, more detailed work needs to continue, with public and private institutions weighing the impacts of peak oil and developing plans to address the specific vulnerabilities and opportunities they face. Civic and business leaders need to be encouraged to:

• Identify ways to reduce energy use in their facilities, activities and transportation systems;
• Assess how suppliers will be affected and develop alternatives for products and materials that are dependent on petroleum and natural gas (for example, the health care industry uses many petroleum-based products, and agriculture uses fertilizers made from natural gas);
• Consider how customer purchasing patterns or client demand will change;
• Prevent over-expansion of facilities that may see a reduced demand in the future;
• Develop strategies to protect vulnerable and marginalized populations who will be particularly impacted by peak oil; and
• Develop new business opportunities and circumstances that will result from peak oil.

The City has an important leadership role to play in encouraging preparedness planning and determining what types of incentives are needed to assist in the transition. Because Portland is part of a regional economy and transportation system, it will need to build partnerships with other jurisdictions in order to address issues at the regional and state level.

Action items:

a)  Directly involve civic and business leaders in issue briefings. Task Force members can support this outreach. Important audiences include:

• City of Portland: City Council, bureau heads, citizen advisory groups
• Infrastructure providers: Port of Portland, Oregon Department of Transportation, Portland Office of Transportation, Metro, and railroads
• Business leaders
• Freight and logistics industry: Individual airline, trucking, rail, and marine companies
• Building industry:  Architects, builders, developers, and owners
• Food industry: Farmers, processors, grocery stores, restaurants, food relief agencies
• Health care providers
• Public agencies: Schools, social service agencies, partners in local, regional and state government
• Major non-profit organizations
• Utilities and Oregon Public Utility Commission
• Faith communities

b)  Educate key City employees. Share the Task Force report, emphasizing that all bureaus should incorporate the report’s recommendations into their plans.  Bureau sustainability plans are also a potential vehicle for tracking bureau progress. 

c)  Provide regional and national leadership by collaborating with leaders in other jurisdictions within the metropolitan region, and working with organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

d)  Seek partnerships with businesses, universities and other governments to develop economic analysis that will investigate the implications of rising energy prices and inform planning by businesses and economic development agencies.